


Feline friend

by Bea2550



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCeased (DC Comics), Harley Quinn (Cartoon 2019), Harley Quinn (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Confusion, F/F, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, hella late, post2x08
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:14:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24395581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bea2550/pseuds/Bea2550
Summary: After what happened in Gotham with the parademons Harley turns to an unlikely friend for advice.
Relationships: Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel
Comments: 5
Kudos: 101





	Feline friend

It was over and out. Ivy had sent a clear message to Harley by now. Kiteman was gonna be her husband and Harley. Harley was just gonna stay Ivy’s best friend. That’s what the stupid reflection of Dr Harleen Quinzell was moaning about. Even after a Harley had thrown a chair at the cursed mirror she saw the face of her past self. Shattered on the floor like the delicate reflecting remnants of what she was. What she could have been.

“aaargh!!”

She cried out while she covered her face with both her hands. Angry at herself, at that dammed kite flying, friend stealing, shitface. She fell back flat on her messy bed. It had been only a few hours since she broke her staff and surrendered her parademon army. Hell, it hadn’t even been a full day since her talk with Ivy in the morning. It had been a long time since Harley felt the way she felt, and it wasn’t a good feeling. The only little bit of brightness in the dark night was that al least it wasn’t because of that maniac of a clown she felt like this.

With a sigh, Harley looked over to the side. Not even her favourite pinky unicorn alarm clock could brighten up her mood as it jumped to 2:00 am as lifeless as Harley felt. She took a deep breath and spread her arms wide open as she looked up. On the ceiling was a little picture of her and Ivy. The selfie while they were murdering some ace chemical knuckleheads managed to pull up one off the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, look at that. Is the little bird lost?”

Harley jumped up at the voice and looked around the dimly lit room. Only the moon and some fires from earlier cast some light into the room. But nobody was to be seen.

“Come out and maybe I won’t smash you.”

Harley responded, she jumped from her bed and took her bat still looking around the room.

“I’m here, oh no here, oops missed me. Haha”

Harley looked back and forth as the voice came from everywhere and nowhere. With her bad in both hands, she looked around desperate.  
Then came the laugh, it shrieked through her bones and her face turned fearful. What? How? She saw him die with her own eyes. or did she?

“Oh, I will never die haha. I’ll be here forever with you, in your head. Hahaha”

“AAAhhh”

Harley collapsed down to her knees his laugh resonating inside her head. Her bat dropped to the floor as she tried to cover her ears. Nothing worked, his voice, his laugh, it wouldn’t go. Driving her insane. Harley cried out but as she cried his voice became only louder, choking hers. His face flashing in front of her eyes. Even squeezing them shut did not work he was getting inside her head even from his grave. Out of the darkness came his pale hands reaching for her. He shook her back and forth as his face came closer. Calling for her over and over.

“harley, Harley, Haaaarley….”

“AAAAAhh!!”

Harley cried out louder than before as she threw herself back away from the maniac. Her back hit the side of her bed and as she opened her eyes again she saw Kingshark on one knee about a meter in front of her. His face said more than she hoped. Clayface stood behind him his face even more worried.

“Harley? Are you okay?”

The shark said on a soft tone while he looked at the sobbing girl sitting on the floor leaned against her bed. 

“We heard you scream. So we came to check…”

Clayface added.

Harley grabbed her head and took a few seconds before she looked up at the two.

“Yeah, yeah just a bad dream that’s all.”

Not a single chance either of the two believed that but they stayed put looking at Harley with raging questions in their eyes. Harley tried to get up but then she realized that little shock used a lot more energy than she taught. Her legs felt weak and her knees wobbly. She tripped a little. Kingshark tried to help but before he could, she had raised her hand to the big fish to stop him. He backed back off as she used her bed to push herself up again. She had to do it herself. That’s what Ivy told her.

“You were screaming pretty badly. You sure you good?”

Kingshark asked again to make sure.

“Yeah, I, I just need some rest it’s fine.”

Harley whispered as she waved her hand a little to her to crewmembers. They looked a little suspicious but overall worried as they began taking some steps back towards the door. Neither of them bought a single piece of her lie, they knew it, she knew it, but nobody wanted to push further.

“Alright Harley, get some rest if you need help. Don’t hesitate.”

Kingshark said as he stood in the door of Harley’s room one foot already out as he held the doorknob to pull the door shut behind him. Harley looked at him and gave a soft little nod. He looked into the hall and was about to shut the door fully when Harley spoke back up.

“Kingshark, Clayface?”

They both stopped and looked at Harley sitting on the side of her bed. Her mind unclear whether she should tell them or not. 

“Yes?”

Clayface reminded Harley after a few seconds of silence. and she looked up at the two with a soft smile.

“Thank you. For looking out for me.”

She said with a genuine sound of appreciation. Something both guys couldn’t help but smile at. 

“You’re very welcome Harley. And don’t hesitate to ask anything.”

Kingshark stared before Clayface finished his line. They all three exchanged one last look before the door of Harley’s room closed again. She was all alone again. She and the voices in her head.

With a deep sigh, she looked out the window from her bed. This couldn’t go on like this. It was crystal clear what was messing up her brain but a solution was far from found. She had to be able to relieve herself from this burden, talk to someone about it. But something stopped her from going to her crew, or what’s left of it. With Dr Psycho now gone like Ivy, they were running short on people.

Harley took another deep breath before she got back on her feet. She leaned over to grab her bat and looked a few seconds at it. As she looked down at the club in her hands she saw a faint reflection of herself in one of the glass pieces on the ground. Even Dr Harleen Quinzell was looking worried at her. 

She looked at the bat and at herself, her legs felt better but not great. Still a little wobbly she walked to the window. She pulled it open and took a breath of fresh air. After a few deep breaths, she looked outside from the first floor. With a determined look, she gazed over her shoulder before hopping in the open window a little clumsy, using the water drainage pipe to get down to the ground. brushing herself a little off before she made her way to Gotham. Looking for someone that might be of help.

In the dark, she sneaked past the massive mess she had left behind only hours ago. It was a miracle nobody saw her but the chaos and confusion still haunting the streets of Gotham did help.  
After walking for a few extra minutes in downtown or what was left off it, fires raging and people screaming in the distance. Harley managed to reach an old but big looking building complete with columns and everything. On the front of the massive marble facade, a name carved out. Gotham Museum Of Art.

Harley stopped on the empty square in front of the building and began mounting the impressive set of stairs climbing up to the giant wooden door marked as the entrance. But right as she climbed the stairs one of the heavy doors brushed open. The sound of the alarm bell ringing.

A slender and elegant silhouette complete with cat ears strolled out of the open door. unfazed by the alarm Selina walked up and looked a little surprised as she saw Harley. The cat dressed in black leather and as many jewels as would fit approached Harley and stopped looking right at her from a few meters. 

“Well hello, what are you doing up so late?”

She asked with a smirk on her face, easily distracted by the new jewellery on herself. 

“I knew I’d find you here Selina. I wanted to have a chat with you.”

Harley responded. Selina couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, intrigued by the request. But the police cruiser coming around the corner with lights and sirens had a priority now.

“Well, I’d love to but you’ll have to keep up then. It seems we got some uninvited guests.” 

The cat nudged at the policemen leaving their car and running for the museum already reaching the bottom stairs. Harley looked over her shoulder and when she looked back Selina was already running off. Quickly Harley ran after Selina.

She could barely keep up with the fast and agile Catwoman. The stunts she pulled off were challenging even for a trained gymnast like Harley. Harley panted while climbing a stairwell up a nearby building she saw Selina enter. The parkouring pushing her to her physical limit but it was effective. There wasn’t a cop to be seen or heard anywhere near. She had lost them but she had lost Selina too.

Harley took a few more breaths and climbed the stairs to the roof of the building. Good god, there was a service door. She went towards it and ran through, looking around on the roof. She was surprised and relieved to see the slender figure sitting on the edge of the building. legs crossed and leaning back over the edge as she watched Harley with a smirk.

“Not bad, not bad. For a circus artist.”

She praised and mocked a little while looking at Harley who was out of breath. Harley looked at the figure and closed the door behind her. too tired to even grumble.

“Can we talk now?”

She asked. She hadn’t just done all of that for nothing her eyes getting a little impatient.

Selina looked at her with a smile. The Catwoman was notoriously hard to read but her smirk gave away a little bit off curiosity. She made Harley wait a few seconds for her answer before patting the edge of the building next to her.

“Sure come on, you need another toy but don’t have the money to buy it? I'm not a simple thief for hire you know.”

For a split second, Harley felt angry. “Ivy isn’t a toy.” She taught but Selina didn’t know about Ivy and her, or did she? Either way, she accepted the invitation and joined Selina on the edge of the building. The streets below were filled with chaos cop cars speeding past oblivious to the pair high up on the roof.

“It’s mesmerizing isn’t it?”

Selina asked Harley who got distracted with looking down. Everyone moving around like little ants. Shaking her head a little to get out of the trance. Harley looked up at Selina.

“You get to understand why the bat spends entire nights on the rooftops. But anyway, you came to ask me something?”

Harley looked at Selina and just sat there for a few seconds trying to come up with a good way of explaining the situation.

“Well it’s something to do with the bat actually, I think.”

Harley said a little unsure but Selina’s eyebrows jumped up in surprise. 

“The man or the girl?”

“The man, well just let me explain. How to put this? I have this friend. You know one of these friends you get to know in school but then never again hear from them until they have a problem kinda friends. Friends of mine, you surely don’t know.”

Harley stuttered a little looking at Selina with a questioning look, trying to find of if she was still tagging along with Harley’s obviously made-up story. Selina looked suspicious but gave a nod. 

“So what does this friend I don’t know have to do with me or the bat?”

“Well, this friend is super best friends with someone else and they like to do fun things and such. Sometimes they do the craziest of things together but that doesn’t matter now. Well, actually it kinda does cause at one of these crazy nights. One of those friends gets like in a lot of trouble but like a shitload, were talking possible death situation.”

“Harley, you causing all that mayhem earlier is really making my life a lot easier tonight but that doesn’t mean I have all night.”

Selina interrupted, looking with a frown of impatience at the chattering Harley.

“Oh yeah sorry hehe. Anyway, so this one friend gets in danger but then the other one saves her. like superman saves that reporter. But then as my friend lays in her saviour’s arms something gets into her and before they both knew it they were kissing. And now it’s all awkward and stuff.”

Selina looked at Harley so vividly telling her story. Harley couldn’t even notice the wide smirk on Selina’s face. Harley looked down at the street as she reminded herself of the troubling story.

“let me guess one of these friends is gonna get married too? And not with her friend.”

Harley perked up looking at Selina with one eyebrow pulled up confused and suspicious.

“Maybe. But how would you know?”

She asked Selina who confidently leaned back with a little chuckle before she looked Harley straight in the eyes.

“Honestly? I thought you knew Pamela better than me.”

Harley gasped and acted surprised with a nervous chuckle. “

“What?! Ivy? And mee?! pppfft… hehe. no...”

She tried to salvage her reputation as the crazy queen of Gotham. But the cat was too vigilant seeing through the veil off lies. Looking at Harley with her head slightly tilted to the side and a questioning look tormenting Harley’s mind.

“Maybe you’re a little bit right. But you can’t tell her!”

Harley confessed rather quickly.

“Don’t worry I won’t. You and Ivy hu? I was starting to think neither of you were gonna find out.”

“Wha? What do you mean with that? Ivy and I, we always have been, good friends nothing more.”

Selina looked judging at Harley. 

“Come on now. Ivy only has plants as friends you know that. So that makes you something more. Also, I have seen you two look at each other.”

Selina explained confidently giving Harley both a relieving but also worrying feel. Who knew off all this?

“That doesn’t make any sense, you’re a friend of Ivy too.”

With a chuckle, Selina jumped up making Harley look up at her.

“Sweetie, I’m’ her idol.”

Never had Harley seen someone so confident in her entire life.

“But I still don’t know what this has to do with me and batman?”

“Well, with Ivy going to marry Kiteman and the unanswered love thing... I thought…”

Harley explained and visibly she saw Selina’s confidence collapse on the inside.

“What that’s ridiculous.”

Selina tried to deny unable to keep any sort of eye contact with Harley sitting in front of her.

“Is it though? I mean it’s not like it’s a secret to anyone and it’s been going on for ages.”

Harley reacted with big hand gestures and everything. Catwoman turned her back to Harley only looking over her shoulder. 

“If that is everything you wanted to know. There are some more vaults waiting for me.”

But before Harley could say anything, Catwoman jumped off the side of the building on another roof. getting away from Harley as fast as she could.

Left behind on the roof was Harley looking at the black cat jumping from railing to railing until she disappeared behind a corner. All alone again Harley looked at the people running and driving down the streets wondering if they all had the same questions she had. Her visit to Selina only giving her more questions instead of any answers. but somehow something felt relieving about it.

But with nothing more to gain on her lonely roof and the first rays of sunshine creeping over the horizon Harley yawned and began her journey back. The fact she hadn’t slept tonight didn’t help her mood either. With her head hanging down and the tip of her bat dragging along behind her, she hobbled back home.

A few daring birds who already got close to the battlefield Harley made yesterday whistled energetic in the morning. The sunshine now warming Harley’s face as she placed her bat onto one of her shoulders to pull on the door handle of the mall.

When she walked inside and reached the main open area she was surprised to see Kingshark and Clayface up already. But then when she walked fully around the corner a third individual came into view.

Harley’s world stopped spinning the moment she saw Ivy’s long red manes. It felt like time had stopped as she watched from just around the corner. Her mind blanks as she just stared. Slowly her bad slipped from her fingers and with a few bounces, it hit the floor dead still.

The sound drew everyone’s attention Kingshark and Clayface both looked surprised but overall relieved. But the look on Ivy’s face was the only thing that mattered. The metahuman turned around with the first bounce off the bat hitting the ground. As if she knew the noise it made by heart. She bolted to Harley with her eyes wide open.

Harley frozen in place could only watch as Ivy ran to her almost tackling Harley into a hug she held for a few seconds. But with Harley frozen Ivy pulled back and grabbed her shoulder. Her green eyes looked troubled at Harley, scanning Harley for any wounds. Everything sounded faint and muffled for a few seconds. unable to hear anything Harley acted confused, fueling Ivy’s fears better than scarecrow ever could. Even to the point she began shaking the Quinzel. 

“Harley? Harley?! Harlyyy HAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Harley heard the maniac clown call for her again and pushed herself away from Ivy but as she stumbled back everything began to clear up. She looked up at Ivy standing over her. Ivy looked down in terror after Harley threw herself away from her so violently her voice faint as she reached out a single arm.

“Harley? harl. Are you alright? What happened?”

Harley blinked a few times and shook her head before she looked up at Ivy. 

“Ivy?”

She said with a confusing tone.

“Harl! Are okay dear?”

Ivy looked relieved but was still nervous she slowly got on her knees to get level with Harley checking her over and over for any cuts or bruises.

“I..I... What are you doing here? So early?”

Harley sounded confused as she looked around nervously until she felt Ivy’s hands catch her cheeks. Ivy looked her in the blue eyes

“Kingshark and Clayface called I… We were worried something had happened to you Harl.”

Ivy explained before she leaned in, wrapping her arms around Harley like she was never gonna let go. Harley weakly returned the favour and looked at her two friends walk closer. She didn’t know if she wanted to curse them or thank them. So she closed her eyes and enjoyed the soft hug from Ivy, the clouds in her mind washing away as she felt Ivy.

Harley felt exhausted but didn’t wanna leave here comfort spot muttering something on Ivy’s shoulder.

“I wanna go to my room.”

Even though it was soft everyone quickly understood and together with the others Ivy lifted Harley on her feet. Throwing one of Harley’s arms over Ivy’s shoulder to support her as the went to Harley’s room.

“Can I talk to you Red?”

Harley asked as they stumbled through one of the hallways, it wasn’t really for Ivy but Kingshark and Clayface got the message staying behind to let the two talk. Ivy pushed open the door to Harley’s bedroom and placed her down on the side of her bed next to a nightstand with a picture frame laying down.

“What happened last night Harley? I was worried something happened to you. Half the city wants your head.”

Ivy asked as she took a seat next to Harley. She reached for the fallen picture frame but stopped as Harley began to speak.

“I guess Kingshark told you everything already?”

Harley asked while looking at the floor. Ivy turned to her and looked worried, it was rare to see Harley this depressive.

“They called me a few hours ago already. Told me you had some serious nightmare or something. And with all the things that happened today, I came directly but you were gone. I feared the worst.”

Ivy’s voice broke a little at the end instilling a feeling off guilt in Harley. She looked up and when she saw the genuine fear in Ivy’s eyes she could not live with herself, breaking up in tears.

“I’m sorry. I...I didn’t mean to...freak you out like that.”

Harley collapsed but before she could fall down Ivy had her in a soothing hug rocking her a little while whispering in her ear.  
“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’re safe now that’s what matters. Just tell me what happened.”

Ivy’s voice trembled a little but the metahuman did her best not breaking staying as strong as she could while her hand rubbed Harley’s back in little circles.

“He was here Ivy in my head… He still is… I wanted to get out off here and went on a walk. Talked to Selina and then came back. I never wanted to worry you like that.”

Harley stuttered on Ivy’s shoulder between sobs. She felt Ivy’s arms squeeze a little tighter around as they nuzzled their heads closer.

“It’s over now. It’s okay. Ssshhh.”

While comforting Harley, Ivy reached beyond and took the little picture frame holding it up. She saw Harley and herself posing for one-off those post-ass-kicking selfies but the glass was broken splitting the picture in two and separating them with a deep crack. Ivy took a deep breath to remain her composture as she gently placed it back up on the nightstand before slowly letting go of Harley who clearly didn’t want that yet.

“You need some rest first.”

Ivy said as she slowly pulled away and stuffed Harley in her bed. She looked at her exhausted friend and brushed some of her hairs of her face before planing a soft kiss on her cheek. 

"I’ll stay close for now just rest."

And with everything that had happened Harley fell asleep in mere seconds looking peacefully and slowly even a smile appeared as she sailed off to a dreaming world.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked reading. I certainly loved writing!  
> Leave a comment if you did I love to hear from you!  
> Stay safe, stay healthy and keep on keeping on!


End file.
